Headlines

Almost 350 construction businesses went under in March, marking a 14 per cent increase on the previous month, according to the latest official figures, ConstructionNews.co.uk reported. Data released on May 19 by the Insolvency Service shows the March total of 347 was the worst for monthly construction firm insolvencies since last October, when 367 companies collapsed. The figures include various forms of insolvency, such as compulsory liquidations, creditors’ voluntary liquidation and administrations.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has introduced fresh guidelines for empanelment of insolvency professionals to streamline and speed up appointments in corporate insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, PTI reported. The revised framework lays down procedures for preparing a panel of insolvency professionals (IPs) who can serve as Interim Resolution Professionals (IRPs), Resolution Professionals (RPs), liquidators and Bankruptcy Trustees (BTs).

European Union negotiators on Wednesday said they reached a provisional deal to remove some tariffs on U.S. imports as part of the bloc’s trade deal signed last summer, ahead of a U.S. deadline to ramp up tariffs on cars, the Wall Street Journal reported. The move marks an important step in what has been a tumultuous period for trans-Atlantic trade. President Trump’s so-called Liberation Day tariffs upended existing agreements last year and both sides spent months negotiating a new deal. The EU seeks to safeguard its exporters against further shocks and support EU-U.S. trade.

Household energy bills are on course to jump by £209 a year from July as the Iran war pushes up the price of oil and gas, The Telegraph reported. Cornwall Insight, the energy consultancy, said it expects the Ofgem price cap to rise by 13pc from £1,641 to £1,850 a year even as warmer summer weather arrives. The rise in the cap – which limits the average annual energy bill faced by a family home – is worse than earlier predictions by analysts that prices would jump by £196.

Rachel Reeves is urging supermarkets to cap food prices in an attempt to limit inflation unleashed by the Iran war, The Telegraph reported. The Chancellor has asked grocers to cap how much they charge shoppers for staple items such as bread, eggs and milk, in return for relaxing some red tape.

Indonesia’s central bank snapped a long-running pause to deliver its first rate hike in over two years, making a pre-emptive strike against the inflation threat posed by the conflict in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported. Wednesday’s move marks Bank Indonesia’s first rate hike since April 2024, and the first time since November 2022 that it has tightened by 50 basis points. The size of the move surprised markets, and underscores how seriously policymakers are responding to the fallout from the war, which has pushed the rupiah to a series of record lows.

LIV Golf has begun laying the groundwork for a potential U.S. bankruptcy filing if it fails to raise new funds, Bloomberg News reported. The golf league is currently looking for money after its main backer, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, pulled its funding. While LIV’s management and advisers are looking for options, including trying to find investors, they are preparing for the league’s collapse when the season ends in late August as a possible outcome.

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama indicated her resolve to intervene in a foreign exchange market to prop up the yen as needed as her Group of Seven counterparts understand the nation’s stance, the Japan Times reported. “We have understanding” from the G7 counterparts, Katayama told reporters in Paris on Tuesday after meeting with them. “We will take bold action as needed.” This was the first G7 meeting after Japan is suspected of conducting a series of interventions to support the yen from the end of last month.

Australia's planned tax overhaul is set to reshape the market's investment ​landscape, with high-dividend blue chips poised to benefit at the expense of growth-oriented stocks, fund managers say, Reuters reported. Under reforms unveiled in last week's ‌Budget, the centre-left Labor government will scrap the 50% discount on capital gains for assets held over a year and instead tax inflation-adjusted gains. A 30% minimum tax on net capital gains will be introduced from July 2027. The upshot is a structural shift in how Australians invest.

As bank executives increasingly tout the promise of artificial intelligence to slim down workforces, regulators are warning them not to get carried away, Bloomberg News reported. The European Banking Authority, the rulemaker for financial firms operating in the region, has been meeting with national authorities to ensure human bankers are providing adequate oversight of processes increasingly handled by AI, according to Ruta Merkeviciute, head of digital finance at the EBA.